When a French chef opened up a bakery in the centre of London’s high-end Marylebone High Street recently, a London Times article quipped that it was another victory for the French in establishing themselves in the heart of Britain’s medical world. Medical?

Yes, well ? the writer did proceed to explain and very convincingly indeed. Pointing out that providing whole-wheat, organic bread to the British people was the new bakery’s chief focus, he went on to show how organic bread served ? hot or cold ? to provide an answer to a host of ailments including various types of diabetes, blood pressure, etc.

Dieticians, the world over, agree. Says Calcutta-based consultant dietician, Nina Singh, “The right diet goes a long way in preventing major lifestyle-related illnesses later in life. And bread being an integral part of most staple diets in India, it’s important that you choose the right bread ? which is wholemeal or organic bread.”

It’s all in the blood

The argument is simple. Carbohydrates ? along with fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals and other trace elements ? are an absolute essential component of a healthy daily diet. Bread is one of the most important sources of carbohydrates. But the refined bread that we commonly consume has a high glycaemic index. In plain English, that means it metabolises fast and reaches our bloodstream very quickly. This is bad. Because when carbohydrates reach our bloodstream, our blood sugar levels rise and when that happens too fast, our blood sugar levels, too, go up too fast. To control that, the pancreas releases high doses of the blood sugar-controlling hormone, insulin. That immediately brings the blood sugar levels down ? sometimes so sharply, it falls lower than before the carbohydrate was consumed. As a result, we feel hungry and we eat. Our blood sugar level rises again. And again, too much insulin pours out into the bloodstream in order to remove the sugar and there is a rebound fall.

A graph of the blood sugar levels of a person eating carbohydrates with a high glycaemic index may show a series of sharp inclines and declines. During this process, the surplus insulin floods the body’s cells and involves every cell in the body. Gradually, the cells become resistant to insulin. The body, of course, still tries to fight back. To compensate for the growing insulin resistance to the cells, it starts to produce more and more insulin.

Overworked, slowly, the pancreas wears out and the person develops diabetes type two, along with the associated complications of heart attacks, strokes, kidney failures and blindness. Insulin resistance is also known to cause high blood pressure and polycystic ovarian syndrome. Interestingly, insulin resistance is also often one of the culprits, when a pot belly simply refuses to go away. This central fat around the abdomen is more than just a food store, it is an indication of the release of damaging hormones.

Whole in one

That was the bad news. The good news is that organic, or whole-wheat bread, has a low glycaemic index. It is rich in fibre and the carbohydrate metabolises slowly, taking time for it to be absorbed in the bloodstream. And just the right amount of insulin is released by the pancreas. Says Singh, “I prescribe whole-wheat breads and other unrefined forms of carbohydrates to my patients”.

Pointing out that whole-wheat is easily available in markets and grocery stores across the city (you just have to ask for the less refined flour (atta), as opposed to refined flour (moida), Singh says, “Eating healthy and being physically fit is not so difficult in our country if we put our mind to it”. Whole-wheat bread and brown bread are also available in many health food stores as well as a number of confectioneries in Calcutta.

Eat your heart out

There are many types of breads around the world. How do you decide what’s healthy and what’s not?

Whole-wheat bread is made from wholemeal flour, which contains most of the components of the grain — that is close to 100 per cent extraction rate. With increasing knowledge of the health benefits of whole-wheat, this bread has become popular.

The most common variety of bread is white bread. It is also made from wheat flour, but the extraction rate is only approximately 77 per cent. However, you can add to it such ingredients such as vegetable flour, seeds, cereals, herbs or a mixture of all these in order to lessen the glycaemic index.

You can also increase the fibre contents of white breads. Made with the addition of bran or other fibre-containing material, these are healthier than the average white bread.

Then there is rye bread, which is made from a combination of rye flour and wheat flour. Dark rye bread contains a higher proportion of rye flour and rye meal than light rye and is consequently denser, heavier and has a stronger flavour.

Gluten-free bread is based on cornflour to which flour from gluten-free grains (such as rice and maize), potato or pulses is added. Gluten-free bread has a denser, more crumbly texture than traditional bread.

GIve us this day

Some wholly wholesome bread experiences:

Dietician Nina Singh points out that you can also mix various types of flours (the coarser the better) together and add to your whole-wheat for some wholly wholesome bread experiences. Here’s a recipe for date bran bread, suggested by Singh.

Ingredients:

• Two cups whole-wheat flour
• One-and-a-half cups of whole bran cereal/oat/wheat
• One teaspoon salt
• Two teaspoon baking powder
• Half teaspoon baking soda
• Half a cup of molasses
• One-and-a-half-cups of milk
• One egg, one cup seedless dates and some butter

Instructions:

Heat oven (180 degree Centigrade). Grease the baking pan with butter. Now, mix all the dry ingredients. Stir well. Add the rest of the ingredients — milk, molasses, egg, etc. Blend together. The batter should be thick, smooth and gluey. Pour in baking pan and bake it for an hour. Remove baking pan from the oven and brush the top of the loaf with a touch of butter. Enjoy.